Urban RenewalThe company behind the proposed €100 million MacDonagh Junction retail, residential and commercial development in Kilkenny city, Chesterbridge Development Ltd, has signed a key development agreement with Kilkenny County Council and CIÉ.
The legal agreement will set out the terms under which MacDonagh Junction will be developed, an important step forward for the project according to Gary Talbot, director of Chesterbridge.
Subject to plannng permission, the development will incorporate an anchor store, 40 retail units, a 120-bed hotel, 5,945 sq m (64,000 sq ft) of office space including science and technology starter units and 131 residential units.There will also be 1,000 car-parking spaces.
The council and CIÉ are to get 9 per cent of the rent roll in what will be a new urban quarter with public squares, streets, pedestrian routes and city views in what has been an underdeveloped part of the city.
Protected buildings including the the former union workshops, the goods shed, and the old railway terminus, which will be renovated and reused as an integral part of the scheme. The development is expected to act as catalyst for rejuvenation of John Street and its environs.
Chesterbridge stepped up its marketing drive when news emerged that shareholders in Kilkenny Co-op Livestock mart voted to join Melcorp Ltd - which operates Kilkenny's High Street shopping mall and Drogheda Shopping Centre - to redevelop its 13.2-acre site at Barrack Street into a shopping and residential area.
It???? is looking to have the land rezoned for a mixed €80-€100 million development which will also include offices, a hotel and a cultural and leisure facilities.
TheChesterbridge development forms the centre-piece of the Integrated Area Plan for Kilkenny city and is the only commercially zoned site of this size in Kilkenny.
It is expected to attract leading UK and European multiples looking for a trading pitch in the city, where shopping is concentrated on the main streets and a high percentage of stores are locally-owned.
